Improvement in watek-wheels



j NUM Witnesses:

OGRAPHR. WASHINGTON. D, C

r FREDERICK POsT, OFPLANO, ILLINOIS.

Letters Patent No.' 81.535, dated August 25, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATER-WHEELS.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK POST, oi Plano, in the' county ot' Kendall, and State of Illinois, havc invented a new and usefullmprovement in Water-Wheels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, in whichv Figure 1 is aside view of all the parts connected, and

Figure 2 is atop view ofthe minor wheeldetached.

Parts lettered as follows:

A, shaft.

'13, major wheel. l

C C, Ste., buckets ofthe major wheel.

D, bottom of lume.

E, flange of major wheel.

F, minor wheel.

G G, Btc., buckets of minor wheel.

4 H, bearing.

K, lever.

L, bed of stream.-

O, bar.

P, cog-wheel.

R, crank.

S, connection.

T, flange of minor wheel.

U, sleeve.

V, slot.

X X, posts.

The space between thc posts X X represents an ordinary flume, the line at D'being the bottom of the same, and the shaft marked A is the shaft to which I attach my wheel. [This shaft, standing perpendicular, is

held in position by any suitable bearing at its top, and` passing through thel bottom of the flume, rests upon the bearing H, at or near thc'bed ot' the stream; the bed of the stream being shown by the line marked L. I now construct a'whccl which is, to a certain extent, the same as now in common use, and place this wheel upon and secure. it tothe shaft A, as shown in iig. 1, the wheel being shown at B, the-parts marked C C, Sto., being the buckets ofthe same. The top of this wheel has a complete' surface, that is, without apertures, the water entering the wheel between the buckets C C, tc., and being discharged below the under side of the wheel,

having 'an'opening around theshaft for that purpose, the opening being as large as the circle within the inner ends of the buckets C C, c. ThisI/term the major wheel. This major wheel, it will Abe seen, is supported by the shnfuat the bottom of the ilume,.and revolves horizontally. 'Now, tothe under side of this major wheel lI attach a thin ilange, as shownn at E, which extends as far below the bottom of the major wheel as the buckets C C, &c., extend above. This flange is not attached to the circumference of the wheel, but dIrectly underneath the inner ends of thc buckets, it being the saine size in diameteras the orifice in the bottom ofthe wheel.

4This a'nge, extending` downward from the bottom of the major wheel, passes through a hole, made-for that purpose, inrtheubottom of thc flume, the 'hole being just large enough to receive the ilange and allow it to revolve without' friction. This major wheel may be provided with a cap, covering its upper surface, and surrounded by a seriesof slats, through which thewater may pass before entering the wheel, or the water may l be conducted into it through what is called a'scroll;4 but in whatever manner this maybe `accomplished,the operation of my improvement will be the same.

I now construct a wheel, which I term a minor wheel, as shown at F, the buckets of which are shown by G G, &c. This wheel is of just suicient size to pass withinr the circumference of the flange E of tbe major wheel. y

Now, to the tops ofthe buckets G G, tc., of the minor wheel, I also attach a flange of the same length as theilange upon the major wheel, and the same size in circumference as the minor wheel, the top of this flange being shown by the circular line marked T in iig. 2. This minor wheel is constructed with a hub at thercentre, having a perpendicular hole through it, large enough to pass on to and slide up and down upon the shaft A.

I also cut lengthwise within this hole a slot, as shown at V, in tig. 2, for the purpose of receiving a spur upon the shaft, not shown, to prev-ent the wheel from turning upon the shaft. This minor wheel I also place upon the shaft A, underneath the major wheel, with thel spur upon the shaft within the slot V, and the flange T of the minor wheel within the flange E of the major wheel, and the bottom of the hub supported by tho sleeve U; the sleeve U forming a bearing outside ofthe shaftA, upon which the minor wheel turns.

The sleeve U is supported by the lever K and the connection S. This lever I operate by means of the bar 0,'the cog-wheel P, and the crank R, by which means I am enabled ,to slide thefsleeve U up or down upon the shaft A, and to raise or lower the minor wheel by the operation.

The operation of my wheel is as follows:

The water enters the major wheel between the buckets C C, Etc., and is discharged below through the flange E, and also through the ilange, not shown, of the minor wheel, within the same, and passing downwards comes in contact with the bottom of the minorwheel, when its course is changed, and it passes outward from the centre between the buckets G G, 85e.

The major wheel being secured to the shaft A, and turning with it, and the minor wheel being prevented from turning upon the shaft by the slot and spur before described, whatever force is given to either the major or minor wheel, is imparted to the shaft A, the two wheels being, when thus connected, in effect one wheel. l

The minor wheel being smaller in circumference than'the major wheel, has fewer buckets, and those farther apart, teadmit of the passage -of the same quantity of water as tbemajor wheel, but no more, rather a little less,that the minor as well as the major wheel, when in operation, may be filled to its full capacity.

It will be seen that the water, in its passage through the combined wheels, imparts force'to the major wheel by its action upon the buckets C C, Ste., and also to the minor wheel by its action upon the buckets l ll G G, 82C.

Now it is often necessary to run a water-wheel when its full power is not requiredfas in grist-mills, factories, Sac., sometimes a larger quantity of machinery isrequired to be driven by a. wheel' than at others, and it is desirable to avoid the waste of water incurred by running a wheel toits full capacity, when but a small amount of the power obtained by doing so is needed. i

To accomplish this, I turn lthe cog-wheel P in the directionv indicated by the arrow, by means of the crank AIt, which, by its action upon the bar O, raises the lever K, which-connecting with the sleeve U, by means of the connection S, slides the sleeve U, and also the minor wheel, upwards onl the shaft A, the minor wheel entering within the circumference of the flange E ofthe major wheel, and the flange of the minor wheel passing up within the circle formed by the inner ends of the buckets C C, Ste., ofthe major wheel, and partially closing the aperturebctween these buckets, the buckets G G, 85e., of the minor wheel also passing the same distance within the flange E ofthe major wheel, diminishing the space through which the water escapes from the minor wheel to the same extent that the flange of the minor wheel has diminished the space -through which the water passes in entering the major wheel.

IfI wish to close the wheel, and prevent entirely the passage of the water, I continue the.motion of the crank R, until the buckets G G, Btc., of the minor wheels pass entirely within theilangc E, of the major wheel, and the bottom of the minor wheel, which has a slight projection for that purpose, presses against the bottom of the lange E, making as near as may be a water-tight joint, and secure the crank' to hold the minor'whec1- in that position, the wheel thus also answering the purpose of a gate. l

The movement of this minor wheel upon the shaft may be accomplished by means of. the lever K, the'bar' O, the crank R, orany other convenient device. y

New, by the adjustment of this minor wheel upon the shaft, as described, it will be seen that any quantity of water may be used, from just enough to overcome the friction of the shaft which supports it, to the fullest capacity of the wheel, and power obtlaine'dvjust in proportion to the quantity of'water used, as occasion may require. Y i

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, i s- 1. The combination ofthe major wheel B and the minor wheel l?, constructed and operating substantially' as and for the purposes specified.

2. The sleeve U, incombinatiou with the wheels B and F, substantially as and for'the purposesdescribed.

i FREDERICK POST.

Witnesses:

A. SrswAnD, A. N. BEEBE. 

